steak house dinner at home
sorry to the vegetarians!



not something you want to eat everyday, but when you're in the mood, nothing beats a steak. you can head to a local steak house but it's fun to recreate the experience at home, too (and it's a pretty easy meal to make). this meal is centered around a couple of big, juicy delmonico steaks from new zealand. here in bangkok we can get thai beef, australian beef, and new zealand beef pretty easily. for most recipes, where meat is just an ingredient, local beef is fine. but when it's the star of the show, you gotta get the best you can find and afford. to pay our respects to the steak house, i'm also making a cobb salad, corn on the cob, grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes. ok, it seems like a lot of work but in fact the meal takes about 30 minutes to prepare. since you'll be using the grill to make the vegetables and the steak, and you'll be using some of the corn for the salad, timing is everything! boil the corn early so it's ready for the salad, and start the grill in advance so you can thrown your roasted garlic in (it needs to cook for at least 20 minutes) and so your veggies can cook for while you're making the salad. while you're waiting for steak and potatoes to finish, whisk up the salad dressing (once you start making creamy dressings at home, you'll never go back to store bought).

note that all of my recipes generously serve two people.

grilled vegetables
this works with zucchini, squash, portobello mushrooms, even broccoli spears (although you should boil them for just a couple of minutes before grilling)
slice vegetables into generous pieces a little thicker than 1/4 inch. drizzle with olive oil and salt.
when grill is hot, place veggies on grill for a few minutes on each side. don't worry if there's some charring, it tastes great.

cobb salad
one ear of corn, boiled
1/2 avocado, cubed
bag of lettuce
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled

salad dressing
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
olive oil
juice of one lemon
fresh pepper
1 tbsp fresh dill

combine the salad ingredients together in a bowl. whisk mustard and mayo and slowly add lemon juice. once incorporated, add a thin stream of olive oil just to get the right consistency and mellow the flavors of the mustard and lemon juice. add fresh ground pepper and some fresh herbs. pour over salad and toss.

as long as you stick with the basic order of operations and ingredients (mayo, mustard, acid and oil) you can make an infinite number of dressings from this recipe.

garlic mashed potatoes
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into sixths
head of garlic, roasted on your grill or in the oven till tender
1/3 cup milk
olive oil
salt and pepper

boil peeled potatoes in salted water till tender
drain potatoes and squeeze in the roasted garlic. mash together with milk and olive oil. add salt and pepper to taste.